The College Admissions Scandal - What's in a Name?

Recent news has brought to light a college admissions scandal in which wealthy individuals paid for falsified test scores and athletic achievements in exchange for admission to an elite college. Obviously this isn't the right way to make your higher education dreams a reality! But it also leads to the question - are these elite colleges really any better than your local private or state university?

All else being equal, highly selective colleges do seem to confer an income premium over nonselective colleges. But an individual's choice of major, such as engineering, is a far more powerful factor in her eventual earnings than her choice of college. '

If you have more specific dreams, the Ivy League holds a near monopoly over the Supreme Court.

CEOs, on the other hand, come from a broader mix of public and private institutions, with only 14 Ivy Leaguers among the top 100 companies in the U.S., according to a U.S. News & World Report analysis last year...

For a broader view, a 2014 survey of tens of thousands of graduates by Gallup found that college selectivity correlated not at all with later satisfaction in work or fulfillment in life. As NPR reported in 2014, "Those percentages did not vary based on whether the grads went to a fancy name-brand school or a regional state college, one of the top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings or one of the bottom 100."

So how should you plan and pay for college? It boils down to hard work. Not just working hard for grades and other acheivements to make you stand out, but also putting in the effort to find scholarships, grants, and understand your financial aid options.

Our College Access Counselor has recorded several webinars on preparing for college, understanding financial aid, how to apply for scholarships, student loans and more - for a full list of sessions, click here.